Submit an analysis of cost savings attributed to Challenge activities implemented at your school

Assessing the economic impact of any changes in procedure and documenting any cost savings can help make the case for cost competitiveness of food waste reduction and prevention efforts. This can make it easier to justify future decisions to try additional waste reduction and prevention techniques.Funded by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5Ope

Cost savings of contracting out refuse collection

The article discusses the possible cost savings of contracting out refuse collection in the Netherlands. According to foreign econometric studies, contracting out refuse collection leads to cost savings of approximately 20%. Our findings indicate that similar cost savings apply to the Netherlands. However, different production technologies apply to internal or external refuse collection. The Chow test, which examines whether the estimated coefficients on the explanatory variables are the same, reveals that different cost functions have to be estimated for the sub-samples. We show that the postulated cost savings can even be larger, when taking account of effects of different production technologies. Though significant cost savings exist on contracting out waste collection, households will not experience these cost savings on a one to one basis. Private refuse collection firms must pay VAT while public firms are exempted. At present the Dutch fiscal system hinders a more pronounced role for private refuse collection firms.Refuse collection, cost estimation, Chow stability test, pooling, VAT

Quantitative measures of corrosion and prevention: application to corrosion in agriculture

The corrosion protection factor (c.p.f.) and the corrosion condition (c.c.) are simple instruments for the study and evaluation of the contribution and efficiency of several methods of corrosion prevention and control. The application of c.p.f. and c.c. to corrosion and prevention in agriculture in The Netherlands is considered in detail. Attention is paid to relations between c.p.f. and c.c., the corrosion costs, possible cost savings and the applied corrosion protection scheme on farms. It is shown that the c.p.f. and the c.c. are useful expedients in a preliminary analysis of corrosion costs and possible cost savings on farms in relation to the corrosion protection methods applied.\ud \ud It is concluded that significant cost savings on arable farms can be derived by improving corrosion protection. No statistically significant cost savings are possible by improving corrosion protection on the dairy farms considered in this research

Cost analysis of the CTLB Study, a multitherapy antenatal education programme to reduce routine interventions in labour

Objective: To assess whether the multitherapy antenatal education ‘CTLB’ (Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth) Study programme leads to net cost savings. Design: Cost analysis of the CTLB Study, using analysis of outcomes and hospital funding data. Methods: We take a payer perspective and use Australian Refined Diagnosis-Related Group (AR-DRG) cost data to estimate the potential savings per woman to the payer (government or private insurer). We consider scenarios in which the intervention cost is either borne by the woman or by the payer. Savings are computed as the difference in total cost between the control group and the study group. Results: If the cost of the intervention is not borne by the payer, the average saving to the payer was calculated to be $A808 per woman. If the payer covers the cost of the programme, this figure reduces to$A659 since the average cost of delivering the programme was $A149 per woman. All these findings are significant at the 95Conclusion: The CTLB antenatal education programme leads to significant savings to payers that come from reduced use of hospital resources. Depending on which perspective is considered, and who is responsible for covering the cost of the programme, the net savings vary from$A659 to $A808 per woman. Compared with the average cost of birth in the control group, we conclude that the programme could lead to a reduction in birth-related healthcare costs of approximately 9%. Trial registration number: ACTRN12611001126909

Cost-Savings of Implementing Site-Specific Ground Motion Response Analysis in Design of Mississippi Embayment Bridges

Deep dynamic site characterization and a site-specific ground motion response analysis (SSGMRA) were conducted for a bridge site in Monette, Arkansas. The SSGMRA indicated the design acceleration response spectrum determined using the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) general seismic procedure could be reduced by 1/3 for the short period range due to attenuation of the short-period ground motions. The steel girder pile-bent bridge, originally designed using the AASHTO general seismic design procedure, was redesigned using the updated seismic demands estimated from SSGMRA. A cost-savings analysis was then conducted to determine the potential savings associated with conducting the SSGMRA. By designing based on the results of the SSGMRA, a potential savings of $205,000 or 7% of the original bridge construction cost could be achieved for the study bridge. Items that contributed most to the cost savings were the pile and embankment construction

A Transportation Alliance of Environmental Horticulture Producers in Georgia: Issues and Feasibility

Transportation and shipping costs of ornamental horticulture are 10% of total cost of production in Georgia. With many small to medium sized producers using their own independent transportation system, methods to optimize vehicle operations are desired. Will a transportation alliance reduce shipping costs, increase distribution efficiencies, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions among ornamental plants producers in Georgia? The study shows alliances are not only feasible, they have average total cost savings of 9%, average total miles driven savings of 8%, average number of trucks savings of 8%, average driving hours savings of 15%, and average carbon dioxide emissions savings of 8%.transportation, logistics, efficiencies, savings, environmental horticulture, Agribusiness,

An evaluation of urban consolidation centers through continuous analysis with non-equal market share companies

This paper analyzes the logistic cost savings caused by the implementation of Urban Consolidation Centers (UCC) in a dense area of a city. In these urban terminals, freight flows from interurban carriers are consolidated and transferred to a neutral last-mile carrier to perform final deliveries. This operation would reduce both last-mile fleet size and average distance cost. Our UCC modeling approach is focused on continuous analytic models for the general case of carriers with different market shares. Savings are highly sensitive to the design of the system: the increment of capacity in interurban vehicles and the proximity of the UCC terminal to the area in relation to current distribution centers. An exhaustive collection of possible market shares distributions are discussed. Results show that market shares distribution does not affect cost savings significantly. The analysis of the proposed model also highlights the trade-off between savings in the system and a minimum market share per company when the consolidation center is established.Postprint (published version

Potential economic impacts from improving breastfeeding rates in the UK

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.RATIONALE: Studies suggest that increased breastfeeding rates can provide substantial financial savings, but the scale of such savings in the UK is not known. OBJECTIVE: To calculate potential cost savings attributable to increases in breastfeeding rates from the National Health Service perspective. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: Cost savings focussed on where evidence of health benefit is strongest: reductions in gastrointestinal and lower respiratory tract infections, acute otitis media in infants, necrotising enterocolitis in preterm babies and breast cancer (BC) in women. Savings were estimated using a seven-step framework in which an incidence-based disease model determined the number of cases that could have been avoided if breastfeeding rates were increased. Point estimates of cost savings were subject to a deterministic sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Treating the four acute diseases in children costs the UK at least £89 million annually. The 2009-2010 value of lifetime costs of treating maternal BC is estimated at £959 million. Supporting mothers who are exclusively breast feeding at 1 week to continue breast feeding until 4 months can be expected to reduce the incidence of three childhood infectious diseases and save at least £11 million annually. Doubling the proportion of mothers currently breast feeding for 7-18 months in their lifetime is likely to reduce the incidence of maternal BC and save at least £31 million at 2009-2010 value. CONCLUSIONS: The economic impact of low breastfeeding rates is substantial. Investing in services that support women who want to breast feed for longer is potentially cost saving